On Sunday, 21 July 2024, at 16.00 WIB, at the Jejak Imaji Community Secretariat, Banguntapan, Bantul, a literary community discussion was held. The discussion was held as one of the agendas to commemorate the decade-long journey of the Jejak Imaji community. The community has produced several poetry and short story writers who were published in many mass media and won a number of writing competitions. The celebration was held for approximately one week, from 20-28 July 2024 with a variety of agendas presenting 40 writers, artists, academics, culturalists, literacy activists, and musicians.

At the literary community discussion event, Saeful Anwar, a lecturer at the Indonesian Language and Literature Study Programme, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, said that there are three general trends of literary communities in Yogyakarta, namely those that offer celebrations of works, discussions to legitimise works, and relationships to expand the perspective of the work. For Anwar, Jejak Imaji is the third type of community, where members find space to collaborate together in entering the world of literature.

Yogyakarta, July 13, 2024 — Rela Co-Working Space on Jl. Pogung Baru, Yogyakarta, hosted an in-depth discussion on the Palestinian issue with the title “Questioning the Problems of Palestine: Need Real Solutions”. This activity was held with speaker Dr. Mahmudah, M.Hum., and attended by members of the Mustanir community, consisting of lecturers and students from various universities in Yogyakarta.

The discussion held on Saturday had the main objective of responding to the current situation in Gaza and Palestine in general, providing an in-depth understanding of the background of the Palestine-Israel conflict, and socializing social institutions involved in efforts to help the Palestinian people affected by the war.

The event was opened with a warm welcome from the host, followed by the reading of verses from the Qur’an to provide a spiritual nuance to the discussion. Furthermore, Dr. Mahmudah, M.Hum., presented material that focused on various aspects of the Palestine-Israel conflict and the challenges faced by the Palestinian people due to the war.

The 45-minute presentation ended with a question and answer session, allowing participants to dig deeper and discuss concrete solutions related to the issues discussed. The discussion also underlined the linkages to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in the aspects of Peace, Justice, and Resilient Institutions, with an emphasis on strengthening inclusive and peaceful societies, providing access to justice, and building effective and inclusive institutions.

The activity ended with a group photo session as a closing moment. The participants felt that the discussion not only provided new insights into the ongoing conflict, but also opened up opportunities to contribute to social efforts that support justice and peace for the Palestinian people.

With this discussion, it is hoped that the public can better understand the complexity of the Palestinian conflict and play an active role in efforts to support a just and humane solution.

Yogyakarta, July 27, 2024 – Evi Idawati’s Literary House in Sedayu, Bantul, recently organized an intensive workshop entitled “Piwulang Sastra Menatah” which aimed to teach poetry writing skills to teenagers in Yogyakarta. This activity is aimed specifically at those aged between 17 and 21 years old.

The workshop officially opened on July 14, 2024, and on July 24, 2024, the training event entered its third agenda by presenting two renowned speakers in the field of literature, namely Hasta Indriyana, an accomplished poet, and Saeful Anwar, S.S., M.A., a poetry writer and lecturer at the Indonesian Language and Literature Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM.

In the session, Saeful Anwar shared valuable insights into the process of creating poetry. He explained that a poet’s perseverance often correlates with his ability to pay attention and absorb the things around him. Anwar emphasized the importance of originality in literary works, which he said are often inspired by the poet’s own social environment.

“Poetry is different from prose in terms of the limited number of words available, which makes poetry more honest because it has to be straight to the point without many additions,” Anwar said. He also introduced the 3T concept taught by Ki Hadjar Dewantara: titeni (observe), imitate and add. This concept aims to encourage workshop participants to be more critical in writing and add uniqueness to their poetry.

This activity received an enthusiastic response from the participants, who felt that they got a lot of inspiration and new techniques in writing poetry. With this workshop, it is hoped that more Yogyakarta teenagers will be able to explore and develop their literary talents through poetry.

Yogyakarta, August 26, 2024 – Faculty of Cultural Sciences Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB UGM) held a meeting with the Linguistics Master Program of Nusa Cendana University (Undana) on Monday, August 26, 2024. The meeting took place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Conference Room 1, Poerbatjarakan Building 1st Floor, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM.

This event aims to provide input to the Undana Linguistics Master Program regarding strategies and best practices in building and managing a quality Linguistics Master Program. Present at this meeting were representatives from FIB UGM consisting of: Dr. Nur Saktingrum, M.Hum., Dr. Suhandano, M.A., Dr. Sailal Arimi, M.Hum., Dr. Sajarwa, M.Hum., and Dr. Ramayda Akmal, M.A. Meanwhile, from Undana, there were also representatives who came all the way from Kupang, NTT: Dr. Sebastianus Fernandez, M.Pd., Dr. Jermy Balukh.

In this meeting, the representatives of FIB UGM shared their experiences and insights on how to develop an excellent Master of Linguistics program, including tips and tricks to attract more enthusiasts. The discussion covered various aspects such as curriculum development, innovative teaching methods, and effective promotion strategies.

The meeting is expected to provide valuable guidance and strengthen cooperation between the two institutions for the development of linguistics education in Indonesia. Thank you to all participants for attending and contributing to this constructive discussion.

Opening the new academic year, on August 14, 2024 the UGM Anthropology Department, The Center for Religious and Cross-cultural Studies, and the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies held an Anthropology of Religion Seminar entitled “Islam, Ambiguity, and (In)Tolerance: Perspectives from Southeast Asia” which was held at the Auditorium of Soegondo building, Faculty of Arts UGM. On this occasion, Professor Ismail Fajrie Alatas and Dr. Martin Slama as speakers presented their work-in-progress.

The seminar was opened by Professor Ismail Fajrie Alatas by reviewing the thoughts of previous scholars such as Ernest Gellner who reemphasized the distinctiveness of anthropological studies of religion in understanding Islam as a system of social institutions and that orthodoxy contains power relations that manifest certain opinions. Meanwhile, his colleague, Dr. Martin Slama in this presentation highlighted more about the views of Southeast Asian communities regarding the concept of tolerance and intolerance in Islam towards the concept of ambiguity, drawing on the thoughts of Shahab Ahmed and Thomas Bauer, both arguing that Islam’s inability to respond to ambiguity is now an implication of modernity so that Islam becomes more intolerant and seems rigid like an ideology.

Enriching the discourse of religious studies and anthropology of religion in a more specific research locus is very important for the development of contemporary studies and insights for the wider community, as Dr. Sita Hidayah in her commentary mentioned that this research provides broader insights because it shifts the focus of Islamic studies towards Southeast Asia. Through various seminars, workshops, and discussions like this, the Anthropology Department is committed to realizing the Sustainable Development Goals including SDGs 4 quality education and SDGs 17 partnerships to achieve common goals.

Author: Novilatul Ananda Ramadhani

Photo: Puspita Nindya Sari

Editor: Admin of FIB Public Relations